KBC vs Big Boss

Television is today the world’s largest and the most used gadget.  It is, in my opinion, the most valuable invention –even more than that of the Internet as the latter demands computer literacy, net connectivity and decent economic power to use the net time.  TV does not require any special skill or knowledge to use it nor needs a Wi-Fi connectivity and has transcended the economic divide as it is now a household item in nearly all urban and rural homes. For a middle class urban family it is a boon as entertainment from sports to films, dance to music,  quiz shows and news is available in   the drawing room and  that too, without much of a burden on the purse or the hassle of travelling. In comparison using one’s own vehicle and going to a theatre or to a sports field to watch a film or a game has become prohibitively expensive, not to belittle the problems of parking. The rural folks who hero worship the Bollywood stars now share their excessive adulation with the Television heroes and heroines and  love watching the soap operas and the latest one week old films (as most films don’t run beyond a week in the multiplex theatres and are distributed to the TV channels a week after release).  The newest craze is for the reality shows featuring budding singers and dancers, quiz participants and Big Boss contestants.

Reality shows happen to garner the best TRP (Television rating points). These shows are mainly competitive shows to unearth new talents where the contestants are not celebrated actors but ordinary people who are given a platform to display their talents. These are shows for the Aam Admi as they exalt them to celebrity status for a short period. Even if some doubts are expressed about the genuineness of selecting the winner and about the claim that the shows are not pre-scripted, still these shows attract a lot of viewers from the not so elite groups and provide an opportunity for many young men and women to perform on the TV screen that is  viewed all over the country. It certainly boosts the self confidence of the contestants who come from different regions and different strata of society and reveals the dormant spark in them that gets noticed even if only one is crowned the winner at the end. The young men and women, boys and girls from the rural areas get a glimpse of the urban life style as they come to Mumbai and stay with fellow contestants  from the city.  Music and dance reality shows are the most enjoyed by the viewers though KBC- Kaun Banega Crorepati bags the honours for being the most popular show. KBC is definitely a cut above the rest. The sets are elegant and like a circus arena, the viewers are outside the ring that is reserved for the contestant and the wonderful quiz master. The questions and the multiple choices of answers have a unique quality of being easy and difficult- as easy as pie and challenging without intimidation.. The contestants are made to feel at ease and are ushered into their seat with gracious hospitality. The credit goes to the anchor- the one and the only one-Amitabh Bachchan who is the distinguished representative of old and new world culture. The old world culture is one where values and traditions stay as a thing of stability while he manifests the new world trend with its embrace of the present and the future. Amitabh is grace personified which is seen both in the compliments he gives to the contestants and the compliments he receives from them. Despite his tall image he does not dwarf the person in the hot seat as he unifies the  old world values of respect, courtesy, chivalry  and civility with the new world emphasis on technology, sharing knowledge and  coming together of humanity in a shrinking world.  Even when Amitabh is embarrassed by praises from gushing contestants - mainly female- he displays a sort of wistful humour of the most disarming kind. Amitabh, without an exaggeration  displays certain virtues like grace, fairness,  modesty, humbleness, and a sense of noblesse oblige - the ideals not only worth reflecting upon but worthy of emulating. He single handedly carries the show with panache and elegance and makes the KBC  the most civilized and cultured show on television.

In contrast is the Big Boss. Big Boss, now in its eleventh year is crass, unrefined and boorish to say the least. A number of contestants (known as "housemates") are put together in a specially built house and they remain isolated from the rest of the world for the duration of the full show – anything between 7 to 15 weeks. The House has no TV connection, no telephones, no Internet connection, clocks, pen or paper. It is understandable that when one is in the same old company for days together with no outside connectivity, boredom and ennui set in. There is nothing for them to do except household chores and they are not even allowed to sleep during daytime. They cannot have a space of their own and have to share the cramped space  with the same group of inmates. So they tend to get on each other’s nerves. The irony is most of the inmates are from the well heeled families, though not necessarily from understanding and sensitive families. Only one of the housemates is a non celebrity.

The house is well-furnished house, with all kinds of modern amenities, including gym, swimming pool and activity. There is also a Confession Room, where the housemates may be called in by Bigg Boss for a dialogue with him. Though evictions from the house take place every week on the basis of nominations received from the housemates, the truth is that the whole show is scripted and executed according to a plan by the producers. So very often the eviction is done by the Big Boss himself-someone whom the TV viewers can see, while the inmates can only hear his voice but not see him. What one sees on the TV screen is the screeching and screaming of the inmates,  heir fights and quarrels that often go out of control needing the services of the Big Boss to stop them.  These grown up adults behave like immature juveniles – sometimes worse than spoilt brats seeking attention. It is said for raising the TRP levels they are asked to fight and abuse each other, which any normal- leave aside sophisticated families- will abhor and frown upon. The Big Boss culture is tasteless, crude and ill mannered. There is no justification for the inmates to debase themselves and that too in public viewing. What kind of behaviour does the Big Boss promote?  The producers of Big Boss have not given thought to the fact that it turns all susceptible viewers into voyeurs, giving them an insight into a depressingly slinky, kinky and boorish group of individuals who have thrown all social norms out of the house they inhabit for a short span of time. The license to indulge in tasteless, vulgar and crass behaviour seems to be an accepted norm today. We see it on TV debates every evening which are turned into a free-for-all with the participants yelling at each other making it more of a cacophony of meaningless words.  The anchor who is expected to be a neutral umpire with his job to steer the debate on the right course gives all civility a miss and butts in when someone is talking and shouts even louder to drown the voice of the participant if s/he holds a view different from his dotted line.

Something is not right with the state of our society and culture. It is evident in the crass observations made by some of our politicians to attack their opponents. Refinement, sophistication, polish, civility are all on the wane. The TRP garnered by the Big Boss is an index of how low we have fallen. We need shows like KBC to rekindle urbanity, gentility and grace in our lives. Otherwise we will be revisiting an age of  darkness where illiteracy in the use of refined language, gracelessness in action, insensitivity to others’ feelings, lack of refinement in mind  and manners will become the new norms.